Manchester United 2 Newcastle 1: Stuart Mathieson's match verdict

It was a winning night all round for United as both seniors and juniors made capital out of the newly-named League Cup.

It was a winning night all round for United as both seniors and juniors made capital out of the newly-named League Cup.

On the immediate first team front, Sir Alex Ferguson can now add Wayne Rooney and Darren Fletcher back to his squad list.

The England striker was handed 76 minutes to test his healed leg wound that has cost him four domestic matches and two international games.

He was unable to find the net but he made a succession of deft long passes and he’s now right back in the frame.

Captain for the night Fletcher lasted the distance on his starting comeback after 10 months battling a chronic stomach illness.

And there were goals from unexpected quarters with Anderson and Tom Cleverley both on target to give United victory and earn them a trip to Chelsea in round four.

There were also plenty of huge grins and backslaps at the final whistle among the Reds’ 2011 FA Youth Cup winners as they followed generations of previous home-grown products onto the bigger stage in this tournament.

It was hairy at times for some of them but in the end they can all reflect on first Old Trafford starts and appearances with some satisfaction.

The United defensive injury jinx that had claimed Nemanja Vidic as its latest victim was reflected in a raw back four.

Fergie had the insurance of Jonny Evans on the bench but probably didn’t dare name the Irishman in his XI with such a congested senior calendar coming up. The injury curse left the Reds boss with little choice but to name a rearguard that had three debut starters in Scott Wootton, Michael Keane and Marnick Vermijl.

The only defender who’d had a previous game was Alex Buttner and he’s only been at the club a short time and has just one 90 minutes under his belt.

Other than that, Keane’s 20 minutes at Aldershot last season was the only other experience the quartet could muster.

It left United very top heavy and unbalanced with all their big hitters deployed further forward.

But in his programme notes Fergie described his forward four of Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Javier Hernandez and Robin van Persie ‘as good as, if not better, than anything in the country.’

Only the Dutchman was excused League Cup duty last night but the trio of starters with 231 United career goals between them were upstaged by Anderson, who had just seven to his name for the Reds prior to last night as he made the first-half breakthrough.

It was just five days before the 12-month anniversary of his last successful strike against Norwich in a 2-0 home win. The Brazilian had made some impressive runs against Newcastle’s fringe XI but all too often his touch had led him into a cul-de-sac.

But his 44th-minute moment of inspiration was of the finest quality as he powered past Dan Gosling, keeping the ball under control this time before sneaking a glorious left-foot finish inside the post.

Tom Cleverley might not have expected his South American midfield partner to be the one to get him off the hook but he was certainly glad somebody had.

Cleverley had squandered the best chance of the match earlier in the first-half after Hernandez had set him up in the clear. The 23-year-old’s miss was akin to the golden chances he’d missed for England against Ukraine.

He took a fair bit of flak for those wayward Wembley goal attempts in the World Cup qualifier and knew full well that his CV needed a goal boost.

But if his list of glaring misses was playing on his mind he certainly didn’t show it when he got the chance to redeem himself.

In the 58th minute, Welbeck fed him on the edge of the area and Cleverley controlled the ball instantly and then stroked in a sublime finish.

But nothing is easy for the Reds these days and the two-goal advantage stung Alan Pardew into action, the Newcastle boss having seen enough of his side’s pretty meek offerings.

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